Binary linear decision tree with genetic algorithm

A linear decision binary tree structure is proposed in constructing piecewise linear classifiers with the genetic algorithm (GA) being shaped and employed at each nonterminal node to search for a linear decision function optimal in the sense of maximum impurity reduction. The methodology works for both the two-class and multiclass cases. In comparison to several other well known methods, the proposed binary tree-genetic algorithm (BTGA) is demonstrated to produce a much lower cross validation misclassification rate. Finally, a modified BTGA is applied to the important pap smear cell classification. This results in a spectrum for the combination of the highest desirable sensitivity along with the lowest possible false alarm rate. The multiple choices offered by the spectrum for the sensitivity-false alarm rate combination will provide the flexibility needed for the pap smear slide classification